Top Calcium Rich Foods for Pregnant Women

Top Calcium Rich Foods for Pregnant Women

Sufficient calcium intake is very important during pregnancy. If you do not include enough Ca into your diet, the growing baby derives its calcium requirement from your bones which can very well affect your health and also puts you at the risk of poor bone health.

Top Calcium Rich Foods for Pregnant Women

The following article discusses the role of ‘Ca‘ in pregnancy, recommended Ca  intake and sources of calcium for healthy pregnancy and The Following are Top Calcium Rich Foods for Pregnant Women

Your growing baby needs great amounts of calcium(Ca) to

• Build strong bones and teeth
• Grow healthy heart, nerves and muscles
• Develop a normal heart rhythm
• Develop blood-clotting abilities

Apart from providing for the baby’s ‘Ca‘ requirement, taking adequate amount of ‘Ca‘ also helps to avoid pre eclampsia and thereby avoids high blood pressure. Proper ‘Ca‘ intake is very crucial especially during the last 20 weeks of your pregnancy, so make sure that you get enough amount of ‘Ca‘ through your diet and supplementations.

Recommended Amount of ‘Ca‘ Intake

• If you are over 18, you need 1000 milligrams of ‘Ca‘ per day; before, during and after pregnancy.
• If you are under 18, you need 1300 milligrams of ‘Ca‘ per day; before, during and after pregnancy.
• You should pay attention to your ‘Ca‘ intake even after you finish nursing. Continue including calcium rich food’s in your diet to strengthen your bones and avoid osteoporosis.

Calcium affluent foods that you should include in your diet include

Eating calcium affluent foods maintain good health during your pregnancy. FDA recommends 2-3 servings of calcium affluent foods every day to meet the ‘Ca‘ requirement of growing fetus.

• Dairy products like low fat milk, cheese, yoghurt provide lots of calcium. FDA recommends 3 servings a dairy foods every day for pregnant women.
• Cooked Spinach, Turnip greens, Broccoli
• Sesame seeds – 80 gm per day
• Dry roasted almonds – 75 mg per day
• Tortillas (Chapatis)
• Tuna, Salmon with bones
• Calcium fortified orange juice
• Ice cream
• Calcium enriches bread, grains and cereals
• Soybeans and calcium enriched soy milk

Taking Calcium Supplements

• You might be advised by your Gynec to take ‘Ca‘ supplements daily, supplements usually provide 150 – 200 mg of calcium.
• Make sure you do not take too much calcium supplementations as it can cause constipation, kidney stones and also hinders absorption of iron and zinc by your body.
• Your daily calcium intake from every source (diet and supplementations) should not exceed 2500 mg.
• Choose Calcium citrate tablets over ‘Ca‘ carbonate tablets as the former gets absorbed easily.
• Read the labels and buy lead free ‘Ca‘ tablets. Calcium supplements containing bone meal, dolomite or coral have lead in them which harms the baby.
• You need vitamin D to absorb Calcium from your diet. Include Vitamin D supplementations to effectively absorb calcium.

Taking the required amount of ‘Ca‘ during pregnancy helps to avoid bone health problems and promotes healthy growth of the fetus. Including calcium affluent foods and supplements promotes healthy pregnancy. Top Calcium Rich Foods for Pregnant Women